


i love you from head to mistletoe

by maelstrcms



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Christmas Party, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mistletoe, Mistletoe allergy, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:53:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27973337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maelstrcms/pseuds/maelstrcms
Summary: Renjun was starting to hate the mistletoe.He probably wouldn't loathe it as much as he did if he wasn't allergic to it.(Or: Renjun's allergic to mistletoe, and needs Jeno to kiss him better)
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno
Comments: 8
Kudos: 94





	i love you from head to mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> for a little wonder fest - 23 days of wonder | day 1: mistletoe
> 
> this is my second fic ever and my first attempt at proper fluff whoa :0 i had this idea like a while ago but i didn't do anything about it hdbfsjdb this is terrible but i hope you like it!!!!!
> 
> _unbetaed_

Renjun knew that Jaemin was responsible for the mistletoe. He figured that Jaemin, ever the hopeless romantic, would never pass up the opportunity to create some new couples this Christmas. The fact that some of their friends, who had been studying overseas, had returned for the holidays and were spending Christmas eve at their apartment must’ve jump-started Jaemin’s matchmaking skills and sent his scheming mind into overdrive.

Jaemin took his role as the campus’s resident Cupid way too seriously, and after their second year of sharing a dorm with him, Renjun had gotten used to the romantic endeavors his roommate loved to plan for anyone and everyone who was in need of his expertise. Despite the matchmaker himself being _extremely_ single, Renjun had to admit that Jaemin was good at what he did.

Renjun first noticed the little sprig of green, secured with a bright ribbon Jaemin had probably stolen from the pile of wrapped presents sitting under the Christmas tree, hanging over the doorway. Renjun paid the plant no mind and went on with his life, but as Christmas eve slowly approached, he spotted more of the plant hanging up everywhere in the most random places. He soon spotted another suspended above two specific seats at the dining table, and a few taped to the ceiling. He had even spotted one hanging from outside the window, frozen solid and covered in fresh snow.

They were so specifically placed that even Renjun, the one who usually couldn’t really give a flying fuck about what Jaemin was planning, was intrigued. Who was Jaemin trying to set up this time? Chenle and Jisung were spending Christmas in China with Chenle’s family, so they were out of the picture. Mark and Donghyuck weren’t a thing yet, but even _he_ could see the way they looked at each other. With those two out of the way, it left Jaemin, Jeno, and himself. Renjun knew that as much as Jaemin wanted a significant other, he would confess in a very flashy manner instead of stooping low enough to use mistletoe. This meant that the only ones left were him and… Jeno. Just him and Jeno, laughing when they noticed the mistletoe hanging over their heads, their lips closing the empty space between them…

Renjun blushed at the thought, and rolled over in his bed to scream into his pillow.

The mistletoe didn’t bother him at first, but as time went on, Renjun realised that for some reason, his body had decided to hate the harmless sprigs. He found his eyes watering whenever he left the comfort of his room and his nose refused to stop running despite him wearing multiple layers and making sure that he was always warm.

If there was something Renjun loathed, it was being sick, and when enough time passed for him to know that this was not a passing cold, he finally approached Jaemin before their friends arrived to try to convince him to take the damned plant down.

“I noticed the mistletoe you put up.”

“I would’ve been surprised if you didn’t,” he laughs, flattening the brand-new tablecloth Renjun saw him purchase the other day from a Christmas market.

Renjun crossed his arms. “Can you take it down?”

“Why?” Jaemin turned around to face him. “Is the _fearless_ Huang Renjun scared of getting kissed by one of his best friends?”

“Of course not,” Renjun scoffed. “They’re like brothers to me, Jaem. Besides, you’re probably the only person who would willingly kiss me and you kiss _everyone_.”

That was a lie. There was one person in their friend group that Renjun had been head-over-heels in love with for a few months now, but he wouldn’t give Jaemin the pleasure of knowing that.

The other smiled a knowing smile that Renjun didn’t like. “Are you sure about that?”

“A hundred percent sure.”

“If you’re so confident about that, then you should be fine with leaving the mistletoe up.”

Renjun’s cheeks flushed as red as the tablecloth. “Believe me, I’m fine with it! I just think that I might be allergic-”

“Allergic to _mistletoe_?” snorted Jaemin. “That’s a new excuse.”

“I’m serious! I’ve been having a runny nose ever since you put it up, and my eyes keep watering!”

“Junnie, it’s perfectly normal to be nervous about things like this, but the mistletoe is _not_ going down. Besides, I didn’t even tell you which pair the mistletoe is for,” Jaemin’s eyes glinted dangerously. “unless you want it to be for you and a very specific someone-“

“Of course not!” Renjun swiftly denied, turning on his heel and sprinting back to his room, the door slamming behind him.

“Why did you have to forget to get gas today, out of all days?” Donghyuck grumbled. Jeno groaned, using a gloved hand to wipe his snow-covered glasses, his other hand wrapped tightly around a bag stuffed with gifts for his friends.

Renjun and Jaemin’s dorms were on the other side of the large campus, and what would’ve been a ten-minute drive became a long and tiring walk through the snow because Jeno had conveniently forgotten to stop by the gas station after their drive back from the airport. Worse still, it had begun to snow heavily the minute they left the warmth of their dorm building, and the wind picked up when they had reached halfway. Donghyuck took it as his duty to constantly remind him how they could already be in the comfortable dorm, helping themselves to Jaemin’s cooking.

Jeno heard Mark sigh audibly from beside him, his feet slipping on the icy road. “We’re almost there, can you save the complaining for later?”

Donghyuck shut up after that, and Jeno smiled. Mark and Donghyuck’s relationship was… interesting, at best. Jeno, Jaemin and Renjun, who often found themselves watching the pair yell at each other for hours and then cuddle on the couch with a movie on after as if nothing had happened, didn’t really question their bond anymore. Renjun had taken a liking to comparing them with an old married couple.

_Renjun._

Jeno hadn’t seen the older ever since him, Donghyuck and Mark had left on an exchange program in America, but he could tell from Renjun’s social media that he had changed in the past six months. He had spent a lot of time stalking the other’s posts, his finger hovering over the green call button. His feelings for Renjun had only grown since the time they were separated, but he didn’t act on them. Today, however, things were going to be different.

After three long years of hiding how he really felt about Renjun, Jeno was finally going to confess. Hopefully.

“Hello? Earth to Jeno!”

Jeno was shocked back into reality when he heard Mark calling his name. It had barely occurred to him that he had stopped in the middle of the road, thoroughly distracted by the thought of this one specific boy.

“I’m coming!”

Renjun dashed to open the door and was promptly swarmed by three excited boys whose grinning faces were pink from the cold, gifts precariously held in their hands.

“Merry Christmas, Jun!”

“Dude, it’s been _way_ too long!”

“You’re so short! I forgot how tiny you are.”

“Where’s Jaemin? I missed him so much!”

Jaemin came to his rescue, donning a festive green apron and a crimson Santa hat. “I’m here, you sentimental idiots. Don’t just stand around in the doorway, come in!” His words were as sharp as usual, but he had a smirk on his face that he couldn’t quite suppress.

The rowdy group relented, letting go of Renjun to take off their shoes and thick winter clothes.

“It was freezing out there, and the wind ruined my hair,” Donghyuck loudly complained, slipping his shoes off his feet. “We had to walk cause Jeno forgot to get gas.”

“I already apologized twice!” Jeno whined, pulling his jacket off to reveal an adorable baby blue sweater underneath. He had grown taller since the last time Renjun had seen him, and he must’ve started working out in America, because his arms unexpectedly well-defined. The once puppy-like Jeno that Renjun recognized had finally grown into his broad shoulders. Renjun wasn’t going to lie, he looked _hot_.

Jeno met his gaze and Renjun quickly looked in the opposite direction. He managed to choke out an excuse to return to his room and spent a few minutes trying to calm his racing heart and his watering eyes. Renjun was beginning to hate the mistletoe.

Renjun didn’t talk as much as he usually did during the dinner, Jeno noticed. The group of friends were spread out across the living room, Jaemin squeezed between Mark and Donghyuck on the small couch. Jeno was seated cross-legged on the floor as Donghyuck dramatically retold the time when Mark got hit on by some American girl. He had already heard the story many times and chose to stare at Renjun instead, who was listening with unfocused, watery eyes. After a few minutes, he silently left the room without the others noticing.

Jeno quickly jumped up, muttering about needing the bathroom and left after Renjun. He quickly spotted Renjun in the small kitchen, pouring himself a glass of wine and sniffling quietly. “Hey.”

The shorter male looked at him with surprised eyes and relaxed when he saw that it was Jeno. “Shouldn’t you be with them? You haven’t seen Jaemin in months.”

“He’s not the _only_ one I missed, Jun.”

Renjun broke eye contact, rubbing his nose with a tissue. “You should go back.”

“I think I’m gonna stay. Isn’t there a saying about being alone on Christmas eve? I can keep you company.”

The older rolled his eyes, the corners of his lips quirking upwards as he moved to the side and let Jeno pour himself a drink. “Sure, Lee.”

They settled quietly in a corner of the empty dining table, sipping on their drinks. “So,” Jeno began, trying to start a conversation but was immediately interrupted by an uncharacteristically loud sneeze that shook Renjun’s whole frame. “Are you okay, Jun?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”

Jeno’s eyebrows knitted together. “You don’t _look_ fine-“

He brushed off Jeno’s worry like it was nothing. “I am, stop worrying! Anyways, what were you saying?”

Renjun’s allergy was forgotten as they lost themselves in their conversation. He had forgotten how easy it was to talk to the younger, and they chatted for ages about everything. In that moment, Jeno looked perfect to Renjun, his eye-smile softening Renjun’s heart.

Their conversation was interrupted by another poorly-hidden sneeze, and Renjun noticed the concern in Jeno’s eyes, answering him before he had even opened his mouth. “I’m alright, it’s just some dumb allergy.”

“Allergy? To what?” Jeno had a worried look on his face. “It’s not anything you ate, right?”

Renjun shook his head. “This probably sounds stupid, but I think it’s the mistletoe.”

“There’s mistletoe?”

"I'm pretty sure there's some around here somewhere."

They craned their heads up to search the ceiling, and Renjun’s jaw dropped. He made his mind up to talk to Jaemin as soon as he could after this was over. _How_ could he have known?

Hanging right above their heads was a little, inconspicuous sprig of mistletoe.

Jeno was looking at Renjun with a weird look on his face. “Did Jaemin put this up?”

Renjun, who was rendered speechless with surprise, nodded. Jeno managed a strangled laugh. “That guy is _crazy_.”

If his palms weren’t sweating earlier, they were now, and Renjun hurriedly wiped them on his jeans. “W-we don’t have to kiss if you don’t want to- who am I kidding, of course you wouldn’t want to kiss me, forget that I even brought that up-“

His rambling was silenced by Jeno pressing his lips on his.

It was over as fast as it had began, and when they pulled apart, Renjun saw that both their faces were flushed. “Did you honestly think for a _second_ that I would say no?”

Renjun blinked. “Well-“

“I’ve been in love with you for three years, Renjun.”

“Oh. Yeah. Uhm, same. Likewise.”

“Wait what?”

Half an hour later, Renjun was wrapped in Jeno’s embrace on the sofa, a blanket around them both as they watched Mark excitedly rip open the messily-wrapped gift from Jaemin. Jeno could see Chenle and Jisung’s delighted expressions from the screen of Donghyuck’s phone, and they laughed with the others when the present was revealed to be a pair of glasses. (“To see Hyuck’s feelings for him,” Jaemin explained.)

They had returned together with glowing faces and their hands tightly wrapped around each others’. All the mistletoe was banished from the dorm (yes, even the one hanging outside the window), and true to his word, Renjun’s sickness vanished after without a trace. When they had told everyone that they were finally getting together, the pair were instantly subjected to waves of teasing and “I-told-you-so”s, but Jeno didn’t care. By the look on Renjun’s face, he didn’t care either.

They were together, and that’s all that mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/maelstrcms) / [curious cat](https://curiouscat.qa/maelstrcms)


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